Container capping machine



Jul 15, 1958 F. R. MARlNDlN 2,842,913 CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE FiledDec. 4, 1952 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 B Ea O 2 mill 2% 11 /5 '1 64 INVENTORFrederic/o lLMarL'ndin ATTORNEYS July 15, 1958 v F. R; 'MARlNDlNCONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE 1O Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 4, 1952 "lllH H HRM fin mm n N R WM m m A f July 15, 1958 F. R. MARlNDlN 2,842,913

' CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1952 10 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR Frederic/c JiMaI'L IzaiIl F. R. MARINDIN CONTAINER CAPPINGMACHINE July 15, 1958 v 10 meets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 4, 1952 INVENTQR IrederLc/c liLMarbndzn,

M (fi ATTO NEYS July 15, 1958 F. R. MARINDIN 2,842,913

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE 1o Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 4, 1952 INVENTORFrederick 1?..Marzlnclin ww m July 15, 1958 F. R. MARINDINY 2,842,913

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE ,F'iled Dec. 4, 1952 10 Sheets-Sheet '7 T 95,7- I V INVENTQR, .Fi'ederuc/c fl, Mai-Lucian ATTORNEYS July 15, 1958 F.R. MARINDIN 2,842,913

' CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1952 10 Sheets-Sheet 8 1 .17.my ;5 1m. I59 2% 18 INVEN'IIOR Frederic/c R.Marz,ndo'n BY 2 M I rATTORNEYS y 1958 F. R. MARINDIN 2,842,913

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 4, 1952 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR-Frede I ic/v R.Marzlndin Y I l I. Yaw

ATTORNEYS F. R. MARINDIN 2,842,913

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE July 15, 1958 Filed Dec. 4, 1952 10Sheets-Sheet 1O IVENTOR 102 W Freda-wk RMarmcZon M ATTORNEZQ UnitedStates Patent CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE.

Frederick R. Marindin, Bethel, Conn., assignor to Doran Brothers, Inc.,Danbury, Conn., a corporation of Con-=- necticut Application December 4,1952, Serial No. 324,038

19 Claims. (Cl. 53-67) This invention relates to means for applyingclosures to containers, and more particularly to improved means forautomatically capping bottles which are advanced seriatim on acontinuously moving conveyor from which uncapped bottles aresuccessively shifted laterally at suitably timed intervals into acapping position, caps are applied, and the capped bottles are thenrestored to the same conveyor.

Numerous machines for capping bottles have been disclosed heretofore butgenerally such devices in the prior art have required intermittentlyoperated conveyors, with resultant vibration and risk of breakage orspillage, or they have been large, complex and costly devices employinga plurality of continuously moving capping heads, or subject to variousother disadvantages which the present machine is designed to obviate.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means controlling theoperation of the capping mechanism by the presence of a conatiner to becapped,and to prevent operation of the closure applying means if nobottle is delivered to the capping position.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for accumulating anample supply of uncapped bottles adjacent the capping position to assurecontinuous operation of the capping machine, and having associatedtherewith an improved means for admitting uncappedbottles at suitablytimed intervals into position for capping.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means forfeeding caps into the capping position only when an uncapped bottle ispresent thereat.

The above and other objects and desirable features are achieved in arelatively simple mechanism which may be manufactured, operated andmaintained more economically than has heretofore been possible in theart.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will e indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a complete bottle capping machineaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a detailed front view of an intermediate portion of thecapping machine containing the main operating parts;

Figure 3 is a view of a similar intermediate portion looking fro-m theright of the machine;

Figure 4 is a rear'view taken from Figure 3 of a similar intermediateportion showing. certain details of the gate operating mechanism andmeans for vertically adjusting the capping unit;

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken along the line 5--5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2,842,913 PatentedJuly 15, 1958 66 of Figure 2 and showing details of the main camarrangement;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical section through the cam housing takenalong the line 77 of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line 88 ofFigure 2 showing the mechanism for moving a can from the bottom end ofthe cap chute;

Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 8 but showing the mechanismoperated to where the cap is positioned over the container;

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of Figure 7 butwith certain parts omitted and showing the pusher bar and cap pressingmember at the completion of a capping operation;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line 1111 of Figure8;

Figure 12 is a vertical section through the hopper on approximately theaxis of the rotary selector disc shaft;

Figure 13 is a vertical section through the hopper at right angles tothe section of Figure 12 and on the line 13-13 thereof;

Figures 14, 15 and 16 are fragmentary partially diagrammatic views inplan showing successive positions of containers and caps and themechanism for shifting or advancing them;

Figure 17 is a fragmentary vertical section through a modified cappingmember adapted toimpart rotational motion to the capping head; and

Figure 18 is a horizontal section along the line 1818 of Figure 17.

The general features of the embodiment shown in the drawings include acontainer conveyor comprising a fiat horizontally arranged belt 10entrained over spaced wide pulleys 11 and 12. Suitable power means isprovided for operating the belt such as an electric motor 13 connectedto rotate the pulley 11. The belt is mounted on a supporting frame whichmay be suitable to the particular situation and in the drawings is moreor less diagrammatically shown as a housing 14 having an upper platform15 and including a bar 1.6 for supporting the pulley 12. The apparatusalso will normally have associated with ita suitable means fordepositing uncapped containers C (Figures 14-16) on the left end of thebelt in Figure 1 and means for receiving and removing capped containersat the right end. Such associatedmeans may be of varied types andcharacter and form no part of the present invention. The containercapping unit is, positioned inter mediate the ends of the belt conveyorand includes a base 17 which may be mounted on casters for readytransport of the unit from place to place. A pair of rigid posts 18extend upwardly from the base having thereon a bracket 19 provided withholes through which the posts extend, the bracket being verticallyadjustable on the posts.

Projecting forwardly from the bracket is a knee portion 20 having anupper anvil or platform surface 21 adapted to support the containers inthe capping position, and a stepped-down section providing a loweredplatform area 22 over which the belt 10 rides, the upper surface of thebelt being substantially flush with the upper surface of the elevatedplatform 21 as shown particularly at Figure 3. The vertical adjustmentof the bracket 19 and the related supporting surfaces 21 and 22 compriseone of the features enabling the capping unit to be readily adapted todifierent uses and environments.

Positioned above the bracket 19 is the capping unit proper indicatedgenerally at 25, this unit as a whole Figure 7 shows the connection ofthe shaft 26 to the housing through the medium of an enlarged head 26arotatably mounted in the bearing sleeve 29 secured to the housing 27.The capping unit, therefore, is vertically adjustable by the rotation ofthe screw 26 through the hand crank 30 whereby the unit may bevertically positioned in accordance with the existing or preferredposition of the conveyor belt 10 and to accommodate containers ofdifferent height.

Extending upwardly from the main housing 27 is a channel shaped housingmember 32 carrying at its upper end a bottle cap hopper 33 which hasassociated therewith a cap selector disc 34 mounted on a shaft 35 whichalso has secured thereto a pulley 36 driven by a belt 37 from a sourceto be described later. The rotary disc 34 delivers caps S to a curvedchute 38 which conveys the caps to a point adjacent the cappingposition.

Supported on the forward face of the main housing 27 are adjustablecontainer guide means defining a path adapted to maintain the containerson the conveyor belt leading to the capping position. The supportingmeans therefor includes a pair of spaced round bars 40 and 41 projectinghorizontally from the front face of the main housing (Figures 1, 2 and5). Suspended from the outer ends of these rods are L-shaped bars 42 and43 carrying at their lower ends a guide rail 44. As seen in Figures 1and 11, the rail 44 has a flat horizontal section 44a with anintermediate offset portion or stirrup providing a V-shaped, notch 45 inwhich the containers are centered during the capping operation. The rods42 and 43 are both vertically and horizontally adjustable relative tothe respective supporting rods 40 and 41 as shown more clearly inFigures 1, 2 and 5. The rod 42, for example, is secured in a block 46(Figure 5) which is held in vertically adjusted position on thehorizontal rod 40 between jam nuts 47. To ensure against rotation of theblock 46 it may be provided with a spline connection including a groovesuch as that shown at 48 in Figure 1 into which a pin is extendedthrough the block 46. The rod 42 is held in vertically adjusted positionwithin the block 46 by any suitable means such as a set screw threadedinto the left end of the block 46 into engagement with the rod 42. Thesupport for the rod 43 is of similar con struction. An inner guide rail50 is supported in a generally similar manner from the rods 40 and 41,the supports including a pair of vertical rods such as that shown at 51in Figure 5 the lower ends of which are connected to the guide rail 50and the upper ends being secured in blocks such as shown at 52, theblocks being horizontally adjustable along the corresponding horizontalsupporting rods 40 and 41.

Suspended over the conveyor belt at the left just short of the cappingposition is a gate 55 carried on a rod 56 which extends to the rearcompletely through the main housing 27 (Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5). Thedetails of this gate means will be described hereinafter in greaterdetail, but for the present it is noted that the gate is adapted torestrain uncapped bottles and maintain a supply thereof in position onthe belt conveyor between the guide rails and is operated by automaticmeans to allow containers to advance singly to the capping position asfast as the unit effects the capping of the successive containers.

The capping mechanism is driven from an electric motor 60 which issupported upon a round bar 61 (Figures 3 and 4). The motor casing hasrigid therewith a bearing sleeve 62 engaged over the supporting stud 61and angularly adjustable thereon. The motor shaft carries a pulley 63 atits inner end which drives the V belt 64 which in turn drives the pulley65 secured to the main shaft 66 which extends outwardly from and issupported in the main housing. Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the angularposition of the motor about shaft 61 and therefore the tension on belt64 is adjustable by means of a screw shaft 68 rotatably secured in ablock which has a round shank portion 70 rotatable in a block 71 securedto or integral with the motor casing. The screw shaft 68 extendsupwardly through an internally threaded block 72 which is pivotallysupported on a plate 73 secured to the main housing 27. The shaft hassecured to the upper end an operating crank 74.

Extending through the main casing of the unit transversely to the maindrive shaft, that is parallel to the conveyor belt, is an operatingshaft (Figure 2) carrying operating cams 81 and 82 (Figure 6) and alsoat its outer end at the left in Figure 2 a pulley 83 over which isentrained the V belt 37 for driving the upper pulley 36 (Figure l) andthe cap selector disc 34 as heretofore described. This cross shaft 80 isrotatably driven from the main shaft 66 (Figure 4) at an appropriatespeed through suitable connecting gearing within the housing, thedetails of which are not important and are not shown.

Turning now to Figures 6 and 7, the cam 81 is designed to operate apusher bar indicated generally at 85 which includes an intermediaterectangular frame portion 851:, a nose piece 85b and a tail piece 850.The tail portion 850 is slidable in a bearing in the rear wall of thecasing 27 and the rectangular portion 85a is slidable on and supportedby a block 86 in which the shaft 80 is designed to rotate. The pusherbar is normally urged forward, that is to the left, in Figure 7 by acoil spring 87 encircling the tail portion 850 between the rear wall ofthe casing 27 and the rectangular part 85a of the bar. The portion 85acarries a roller 88 adapted to be engaged by the cam 81 which imparts acycle of movement to the pusher bar as dictated by the shape of the cam.As will be later described in more detail the nose portion 85b isadapted to engage the successive containers and push them into thecapping position provided by the V notch 45 in the forward guide rail asshown particularly in Figures 10 and 11.

The cam 82 dictates the movement of a cap pressure arm 90 pivoted in thecasing at 91 (Figures 7 and 10). A clevis 92 straddles and is pivoted toan intermediate point of the arm, the clevis having a rod 93 extendingupwardly therefrom guided in a web portion 94 of the housing portion 32.A spring 95 located between the web 94 and a shoulder on the clevis 92normally urges the pressure arm downwardly, the position beingcontrolled by engagement of a roller 96 carried by the arm with the edgesurface of the cam 82 on shaft 80. The outer end of the pressure arm 90carries a capping head 97 adapted to engage and compress upon thecontainer a cap at an appropriate point in the cycle of operation, aswill be described in greater detail hereinafter. Referring to Figure 2,the capping head 97 is preferably made as a-separate part removablysupported in the arm 90 by a shank portion received in a hole thereinand releasably secured in place by a set screw 98 whereby diiferentheads appropriate to the particular cap may be employed.

Turning to Figures 7 to 9, the outer end of the cap pressing arm 90 alsooperates mechanism to position a cap over the container in the initialportion of the downward movement of the arm. This mechanism includes aplate 100 slidable horizontally in a channel in a stationary bracket 101supported on the main housing. The plate 100 has secured thereto a thinauxiliary plate 102 extending laterally therefrom, that is to the rightas viewed from the front (Figure 2). As appears particularly in Figure 5and also in Figures 14, 15 and 16, the auxiliary plate 102 has thegeneral form of a hook and is arc-shaped at its inner edge as indicatedat 102a to conform to the particular cap being employed. Differentplates 102 may readily be substituted corresponding to the size andshape of different caps, the plate 182 being secured to the slide plate100 by suitable set screw means 103 as shown, for example, in Figure 8.Located above the slide plate 100 and pivoted at 104 to the bracketoscillatable in a vertical plane. I

101 is a cam plate 105 The plate 105 has a forked finger which straddlesa a roller 106 secured to plate 100' and the plate also has a slottedopening 107 adapted to receive a roller 1118 secured to the head of thecap pressing arm 90. As appears in Figures 7, 8 and 9 angular movementof the arm 90 swings the cam plate 105 about its pivot which serves tomove the slide plate 100 forward and back and, as will be described inmore detail, the auxiliary plate 102 is adapted to engage and shift thecontainer caps S from the bottom end of the supply chute into containercapping position where the cap pressure arm 99 then in its continueddownward movement corn presses the caps into or upon the container, asthe case may be.

The container gate 55 and its associated elements will now be described.As heretofore noted, the gate is mounted on a rod 56 which extendsthrough the housing to the rear and is both rockable and slidable inbearings in the housing. The rod has secured to its rear end a yoke 111,as appears in Figures 3, 4 and 5, which has an arm 112 projectingradially with respect to the rod 56 carrying a weight 109 adjustabletherealong. The arm normally occupies a position such as shown in Figure4 in which position the gate 55 occupies a vertical position such asshown in Figure 2. When, however, a sufficient number of containerscollect in the channel between the guides 44 and 50 on the conveyor beltsuch that the frictional drag is sufficient to overcome the effect ofthe weighted arm 112 the gate and arm are rocked clockwise as viewedfrom the rear of the machine (Figure 4) to the dotted line in thisfigure. The rod 56 also has secured to it a finger 113 and in the abovedescribed angularly displaced position of the rod 56, arm 113 is swungto a position indicated in dotted line in Figure 4 where it extends overand in the path of the rear end 350 of the pusher bar 85. Consequentlywhen the pusher rod is moved rearwardly by its cam the gate assembly iscorrespondingly retracted and a container is allowed to pass the gate.As the pusher bar subsequently advances forwardly the gate isconcurrently moved forwardly by a tension spring 114 acting on thebracket 115 having a finger which extends into the space between thearms of the yoke 111. The bracket 115 is slidably mounted on a rod 116extending rearwardly from the fixed plate 73. The distance of gateretraction may be changed by adjusting the position of the finger 113 onrod 56, i. e., its position with respect to'the rear end of bar 55. Alsoby loosening finger 113, rod 56 may be rotated to adjust the angularposition of the gate 55 as viewed in Figure 5.

As heretofore described, a supply of container caps is maintained in thehopper 33 and is fed therefrom into the chute 38 by a selector wheel 34,the details of the selector wheel and associated elements will varydependent upon the character of the cap being operated on. In theparticular example shown the cap S has a plug portion adapted to bereceived in the neck of the container and an overlying crown portion oflarger diameter. The selector wheel on its inner surface is providedwith a row of spaced teeth or lugs 120 and as the disc 34 rotates in thedirection of the arrows shown in Figures 1 and 13 it picks up caps whichoccupy a position thereon approximately as shown at S in Figure 13. Asshown particularly in Figures 12 and 13 the hopper is provided with awebbing or cross bafile 121 and the caps gravitate down the inclinedsurface 122 underneath the bafl le and come into engagement with theselector disc 34 at the bottom ofthe hopper. Here they are picked up bythe selector wheel 34 and if oriented properly drop between lugs 12t1into-chute 38 shown at the bottom of Figure 13. An auxiliaryyweb 123 in thehopper carries a flexible brush 124 brushing'against disc 34. When,however, caps fall between 'the lugs in reverse from the position show-nin Figure 13 or when chute 38 is filled, excess caps S which have fallenbetween lugs 120 but cannot enter the chute or reversely placed capsride up with the disc'and are swept otf by the brush 124-where they fallback into the hopper from web 123. A rotary brush means 127 is providedas shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 for urging the caps forward in the chute,particularly at the lower portion. The brush is mounted on a shaft 128(Figure 3) supported in a bearing member 129 which in turn is supportedon a vertical rod 130. Rod 130 rests in straps 131 on the main housingfor vertical or pivotal adjustment to position properly the brush 127with respect to chute 38. The shaft 128 is rotated by means of a pulley132 driven by a V-belt 133 from a policy 1.34 mounted on the main shaft66.

A typical operating cycle will now be described. Referring particularlyto Figures 14 to 16, it is assumed that a group of containers C havecollected on the conveyor adjacent the gate 55 and the foremostcontainer is being ur ed against the gate tending to rotate the gate andits shaft 56 and when the force overcomes the resistance provided by theweighted arm 112 (Figure 5) at the rear the gate and rod will swing in acounter clockwise direction looking from the front of the machine inFigure 2, for example, to a position where the finger 113 at the rearoccupies a position over the rear end 850 of the pusher bar as shown indotted line in Figure 4, and as the pusher bar is retracted by cam 81acting on roller 83 (Figure 7) the gate 55 is moved rearwardlypermitting the foremost container to advance with the conveyor. The cam81 is so shaped that the pusher bar is held in a retracted position fora short period only, and upon its forward return the nose piece bengages the container which has advanced with the belt conveyor andpushes it forward into a self-centering position in the ti-shapedopening 45 (Figure 11) in the guide rail plate which comprises thecapping position.

Referring to Figures 6, 7 and 10 and assuming a con tainer is positionedas indicated for example in Figure 8, the continued rotation of thepower shaft 81} and the cam 82 thereon gradually releases the cappressure arm permitting it to advance downwardly under the force ofspring 95. At the initial point of this operation the foremost cap S inthe supply chute occupies a position on the supporting plate 140 asshown in Figure 2 and more clearly in Figures 8 and 14, the crownportion occupying the arc-shaped opening 102a (Figure 5) in the capfeeding plate 102. As the pressure arm 90 continues its downwardmovement, roller 108 thereon swings the cam plate 105 in a counterclockwise direction in Figures 7 to 9 which moves the slide and its capfeeding plate 102 to the right to the position shown in Figure 9 andalso in Figure 15. The cap which has been fed laterally as described bythe hook 102 is held centered in the curved portion 1112a in exactcapping position over the container by a finger 141 pivoted at 142(Figure 5) at the side of the cap chute. It is urged in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figures 5 and 15 by a spring 143secured to an tip-standing pin 144 on the finger and at its opposite endto a stationary part of the chute. When the hook 102 occupies theposition shown in Figure 15 a trailing finger 1132b blocks the advanceof the caps in the chute. With the cap in the position shown in Figures9 and 15 the continued rotation of the cam 82 permits the presser arm tocontinue downwardly and firmly seat the cap in a container under theforce of the spring 95, the lowermost position of the arm beingindicated in Figure 10.

As the operation continues, the presser arm is raised and the pusher bar35 is retracted by the respective cams. Referring to Figure 11, asreleased by the pusher bar the cappedcontainer is pushed back onto theconveyor by a pair of fingers 146 which are pivoted at 147 on thesection 44a of the forward guide rail and occupy positions above andbelow the guide rail section respectively. The fingers .146 are urged ina clockwise direction by a tension spring 148 hooked around a spacerbushing located between laterally projecting portions 146a integral withthe fingers 146 and secured together by a pin 149 which passes throughthe bushing (Figures 2 and 3). As seen in Figures 3 and 10, it is notedthat during the capping operation the container bottom rests in largepart on the rigid platform surface 21 and the edge portion whichoverhangs the conveyor imposes very little frictional restraint on theconveyor. The overhanging portion may be as small as desired as long asit ensures that the container may be moved back onto the conveyorwithout catching on the edge.

An important feature of the capping mechanism is the incorporation ofmeans which ensures that if no container is in capping position at theperiod in the cycle when the pressure arm normally descends to compressa cap the pressure arm will be restrained in an upper position andtherefore no cap will be fed from the chute. This means is shownparticularly in Figures 6, 7 and 10. An abutment lug 150 projectsupwardly from the rectangular frame 85a adapted to cooperate with aplate 151 secured to the under edge of presser arm Ni. Figure 10 showsthe extreme forward position of the pusher bar 85 as limited by acontainer when in capping position. In such case the lug 150 remainsshort of the plate 151. If, however, when its cam releases the pusherbar in the normal cycle there is no container present to be engaged bythe finger 85b, the pusher bar will continue forward to a positioncorresponding to that shown in Figure 7, and as the pressure arm issubsequently released by its cam and starts to move downwardly, theplate 151 comes in contact with the end of lug 150 and the arm isrestrained in its upper position. As previously described, slide 100 andthe connected hook member 102 will not move from the position shown inFigure 7 to the position shown in Figure 10 unless arm 90 is free tomove downwardly. Consequently, when lug 150 prevents such downwardmovement, hook member 192 will not move a cap to the capping position ashas been described.

Furthermore, it will be noted that the gate 55 will not move rearwardlyto release a container until a sulficient supply of containers are readyfor capping which creates the force necessary to move finger 113 intothe path of the reciprocating end 85c of the pusher bar 85. Also, arm 90and the capping head will not move downwardly unless a container is inproper position for capping, nor will a cap be fed into the cappingposition. Further, if a bottle should be upset after being released forcapping by gate 55 so that it is not properly picked up by the forwardend 8512 of the pusher bar to be placed in capping position, the sameresult will take place, i. e., arm 90 will not move downwardly and hookmember 102 will not move a cap to the capping position.

Attention is directed also to the fact that both the pusher bar and thecap pressing arm are moved into engagement with the container or cap byan impositive power means comprising a spring as distinguished from anarrangement in which the operating elements are advanced by positivemechanical means. Accordingly damage to either the machine or thecontainers resulting from clogging or displaced parts is substantiallyobviated.

In order to overcome the friction between tight-fitting rubber stoppersand the openings of containers into which they are to be inserted, andto avoid excessive deformation of such yieldable stoppers or caps, it isfrequently necessary to employ rotational force as well as downwardpressure when applying rubber stoppers or caps to glass bottles or otherlike containers. Rotational motion may also be desirable to facilitatethe firm application of bottle stoppers and caps of other materials,such as plastics.

Means for imparting a rotational twist to caps simultaneously with theapplication of downward pressure by which a cap is forced on to acontainer, are provided by the modification of the capping headdisclosed in Figure 17 and Figure 18.

Figure 17 discloses in sectional view the head end of pressure armmodified by the insertion therein of a vertically moveable plunger 152,slidably retained in housing 153 which is threaded into a vertical holethrough the pressure arm head and held securely therein by set screw 98.Secured to the lower end of plunger 152 is capping head 154 having abottom surface 155 adapted for frictional engagement with the top of acontainer cap.

A vertical bore 156 through the upper portion of plunger 152accommodates spiral spring 157 which is held in compression by coverplate 158 secured to the top of housing 153 by machine screws 159. Theforce of spring 157 compressed within plunger 152, between the lower endthereof and upper plate 158, normally holds the plunger 152 extended toits lowermost position as seen in Figure 17, with an enlarged upper end160 of the plunger 152 engaging shoulder 161 of housing 153.

As seen in Figure 17, a spiral cam groove 162 in the enlarged upper endof plunger 152 is engaged by pin 164 mounted in the side wall of housing153. A corresponding cam spiral diametrically opposite to cam 162 isalso provided in the upper end of plunger 152. As may be seen in thesectional view of Figure 18, cam groove 163 engages pin in the samemanner that cam 162 engages pin 164. Pins 164 and 165 are rigidly heldin housing 153 by means of set screws 166.

The modified capping head of Figure 17 operates in the following manner.As pressure arm 90 moves downwardly the capping head 154 bears down upona cap which has been positioned above a container in the mannerdescribed hereinbefore. As upward pressure on capping head 154increases, with continued downward motion of arm 90, spring 157 yields,allowing plunger 152 to move upwardly within its housing 153. As plunger152 rises it is caused to rotate by operation of spiral cam grooves 162and 163 in engagement with pins 164 and 165. Rotation of plunger 152 istransmitted through capping head 154 to the cap which is thussimultaneously rotated and pressed downwardly onto the container. Ifdesired, the bottom surface 155 of capping head 154 may be knurled orotherwise treated to afford increased frictional engagement with caps,so as to assure sufficient rotation of a cap when the plunger 152 isrotated during the capping operation.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction anddilferent embodiments of the invention could be made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In an automatic container capping machine to be used with a conveyorfor transporting containers thereto, in combination, a gate adapted tobe positioned over said conveyor and located to restrain movement ofcontainers on said conveyor whereby said containers with said conveyorexert opening pressure on said gate, said gate adapted to releaseindividual containers on said conveyor when said containers exertsufiicient pressure thereagainst, means positioned beyond said gate formoving a released container crosswise of said conveyor into a cappingposition, means for placing a cap over said container in said cappingposition, impositive means for placing said cap onto said container, andmeans for restoring each capped container to said conveyor.

2. In an automatic container capping machine to be used with a conveyorfor transporting containers there to, in combination, a gate adapted tobe positioned over said conveyor for restraining movement of containerson said conveyor, mechanism associated with said gate for withdrawing itwhen sufiicient pressure is exerted thereagainst, a stationary platformfor supporting said containers in a capping position, horizontalreciprocatory means for moving a released container crosswise of saidconveyor into a capping position on said stationary 9 platform, meansfor placing a cap over said container in said capping position,impositive vertically reciprocating means for pressing said cap ontosaid container, and means for restoring said capped container to saidconveyor.

3. In a container capping machine to be used with a conveyor adapted tomove the containers into the machine, in combination, a pair ofrotatable cams mounted on a common axis, power means connected to rotatesaid cams simultaneously in timed relation, a horizontal reciprocatorhaving a cam follower spring pressed against one of said earns, avertical reciprocator having a cam follower spring pressed against theother of said cams, said horizontal reciprocator being located so thatin its retracted position a container from the conveyor is in alignmentwith its front end and upon extending movement of said horizontalreciprocator, it moves an uncapped container from said conveyor intocapping position, means for placing a cap over said uncapped containerin said capping position, means including said vertical reciprocator forpressing said cap onto said container, means for moving said cappedcontainer from the capping position back to said conveyor, and meansassociated with said horizontal reciprocator in its fully extendedposition for restraining vertical motion of said vertical reciprocatorwhenever an uncapped container is not moved to said capping position.

4. In a container capping machine to be used with a continuously movingconveyor having a flat conveying surface upon which successivecontainers are adapted to ride, the combination of a gate adapted to bepositioned over said conveyor to be engaged by containers and torestrain the advance thereof, means for opening said gate to release acontainer, and control means responsive to the pressure exerted by thepresence of one or more containers behind said gate to actuate said gateopening means to permit the passage of a container by said gate.

5. In a machine for capping containers automatically adapted to be usedwith a continuously moving conveyor for transporting containers into andfrom the machine, in combination, capping means, a gate adapted tonormally extend over said conveyor in position to restrain containers onsaid conveyor from passing to said capping means, further meansresponsive to an accumulation of containers adjacent said gate tooperate said gate to release a container so that it may move into themachine, means associated with said capping means adapted to move eachreleased container to a capping position, and means associated with saidcapping means for restoring said gate to its normal restraining positionover said conveyor while a container is being capped.

6. In a container cappingmachine adapted to be used with a continuouslymoving horizontal conveyor, the combination of a releasable gate adaptedto be mounted over said conveyor and adapted to restrain the advance ofcontainers, a device operable back and forth crosswise of said conveyorbeyond said gate and operative upon its forward movement to shiftcontainers crosswise of said conveyor into capping position, and meansadapted to form operative connections with said device controlled bycontainer pressure against.said gate to operate said gate to releasecontainers successively for advance on the conveyor to a positionopposite said device whereby said containers are successively placed insaid capping position.

7. In a container capping machine adapted to be used with a continuouslymoving horizontal conveyor, the combination of a movable gate adapted tobe mounted over said conveyor and adapted to occupy a positionrestraining the advance of containers on said conveyor or a positionreleasing said containers thereon, a device operable back and forthcrosswise of said conveyor beyond said gate and adapted upon its forwardmovement to transfer 21 released container from said conveyor to a T0capping position, means adapted'to form operative connections with saiddevice for moving said gate into said releasing position upon backwardmovement of said device and to restore the gate to said restrainingposition upon forward movement of said device.

8. In a container capping machine adapted to be used with a continuouslymoving horizontal conveyor, the combination of a movable gate adapted tohave a normal restraining position over said conveyor to releasably holdcontainers thereon, said gate being mounted for movement crosswise ofsaid conveyor to release said containers, a device operable back andforth crosswise of said conveyor beyond said gate and adapted upon itsforward movement to transfer a container released by said gate crosswiseof said conveyor into a capping position, and means responsive to apredetermined container pressure on said gate adapted to form anoperative connection between said device and said gate to move said gateto a container release position upon backward movement of said deviceand to restore the gate to said restraining position over said conveyorupon forward movement of said device.

9. In a container capping machine adapted to be used with a conveyor foradvancing successive containers to the machine, the combination of apushing device movable back and forth crosswise of said conveyoroperative cyclically to push the successive individual containers fromsaid conveyor into a capping position, a vertically movable cap pressingmember including impositive means for urging it downwardly in a cappressing direction, and engageable means between said device and saidpressing member adapted to be rendered effective to prevent the downwardmovement of said member when a container is not moved by said device tothe capping position.

10. in a container capping machine adapted to be used with a conveyorfor advancing successive containers in a predetermined path to themachine, the combination for a device mounted for a reciprocatorymovement crosswise of said conveyor and adapted on its forward movementto push successive individual containers crosswise of said path into acapping position, impositive means for moving said device to an extremeforward position when there is no container to be moved to the cappingposition, a'vertically movable cap pressing member above said cappingposition, impositive means for moving said pressing member downwardly inthe cap pressing direction, and abutment means adapted to be renderedeffective when said device moves to said extreme forward positionbecause of the absence of a container in the capping position to preventthe downward capping movement of said member.

11. In a container capping machine adapted to be used with a conveyorfor advancing successive containers in a predetermined path to themachine, the combination of a pushing device mounted for reciprocatorymovement crosswise of said conveyor and adapted on its forward movementto push successive individual containers crosswise of said path into acapping position, operating means for said device including impositivemeans for moving it in said forward direction, abutment means in frontof said device adapted to receive and hold the containers in the cappingposition upon said forward movement of said device, said impositivemeans adapted to move said device to an extreme forward position when nocontainer is in front of said device, a vertically movable cap applyingmember, impositive operating means adapted to move,

said member downwardly in the cap applying direction,

and abutment means associated with said device adapted over a containerat said station, means for moving containers to be capped to said capapplying station, means for supplying caps successively to a supportadjacent and above said station, a cap transfer element mounted forhorizontal reciprocatory movement and having a hook portion adapted toengage an individual cap on said support and draw it to a position overa container at said station, and means for cyclically operating saidmember and element in timed relation whereby said element moves a capinto position over a container and said member thereafter descends topress the cap on the container.

13. In a container capping machine, the combination of means forming acap applying station, a cap applying member mounted for verticalreciprocatory movement over a container at said station, means formoving containers to be capped to said cap applying station, means forsupplying caps successively to a support adjacent and above saidstation, a cap transfer element adapted to engage an individual cap onsaid support and move it to a position over a container at said station,means associated with said transfer element for frictionally engagingthe cap and frictionally holding it in position over said container, andmeans adapted to operate said cap applying member and transfer elementin timed relation whereby said member engages the cap in saidfrictionally held position, descends and presses the cap onto thecontainer.

14. In a container capping machine to be used with a conveyor foradvancing containers thereto, the combination of means forming a cappingstation, means for feeding successive caps to a waiting position aboveand laterally spaced from said capping station, a hook member adapted tosuccessively move caps from said waiting position to a positionimmediately above said capping station, a pusher mounted above saidcapping station for vertical reciprocation to successively apply saidcaps to said containers at said capping station, means adapted to movesuccessive containers to said capping station, and means for renderingsaid hook member inoperative when a container is not at said cappingstation in position to be capped.

15. In a container capping machine to be used with a conveyor foradvancing containers thereto, the com bination of means forming acapping station, a feeder adapted to reciprocate toward and from saidcapping station to push containers thereto, said feeder adapted to moveinto said capping station when a container is not in position forcapping, means for feeding successive caps to a waiting position aboveand laterally spaced from said capping station, a hook member adapted tosuccessively move caps from said waiting position to a positionimmediately above said capping station, a pusher mounted above saidcapping station for vertical reciprocation, means associated with saidpusher adapted to position each container accurately at said cappingstation, said pusher adapted to successively apply said cap to saidcontainers at said capping station, and means for rendering said hookmember inoperative to move said caps to said capping station wheneversaid feeder moves into said capping station.

16. In a container capping machine to be used with a conveyor foradvancing successive containers thereto, the combination of meansforming a capping station,

a feeder adapted to reciprocate toward and from said capping station topush containers thereto, said feeder adapted to move into said cappingstation when a container is not in the position for capping, means forfeeding successive caps to a waiting position above and laterally spacedfrom said capping station, a hook member adapted to successively movecaps from said waiting position to a position immediately above saidcapping station, a pusher mounted above said capping station forvertical reciprocation, means associated with said pusher adapted tosuccessively apply said caps to said containers at said capping station,and means for preventing the capping operation of the machine at saidcapping station whenever said feeder moves into said capping station.

17. In a container capping machine to be used with a conveyor foradvancing successive containers thereto, the combination of meansforming a capping station, a feeder adapted to reciprocate toward andfrom said capping station to push containers thereto, said feederadapted to move into said capping station when a container is not inposition for capping, means for feeding successive caps to a waitingposition above and laterally spaced from said capping station, a hookmember adapted to successively move caps from said waiting position to aposition immediately above said capping station, a pusher mounted abovesaid capping station for vertical reciprocation, means associated withsaid pusher adapted to suecessively apply said caps to said container atsaid capping station, and means for rendering said hook member and saidpusher inoperative whenever said feeder moves into said capping station.

18. In a container capping machine to be used with a conveyor foradvancing containers thereto, the combination of means forming a capapplying station, a cap applying member mounted for verticalreciprocatory movement over containers at said station, means associatedwith said member for moving said containers to said cap applyingstation, means for supplying caps successively to a waiting supportadjacent the container, a cap transfer element mounted for horizontalreciprocatory movement, said element having a hook portion adapted toengage around the periphery of an individual cap, means forming a pinand cam-slot connection between said cap applying member and said captransfer elcment, and power means associated with said element and saidmember to move said member downwardly to a cap applying position wherebysaid pin and slot causes said element to move a cap from said waitingsupport to be engaged by said member during its downward stroke.

19. The combination defined in claim 17 in which said cap transferelement is slidably mounted with respect to said support and there is apivotal connection between said member and said element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,125,821 Sibley Aug. 2, 1938 2,267,409 Massini Dec. 23, 1.941 2,419,475Barr Q Apr. 22, 1947 2,544,009 Detrez Mar. 6, 1951 2,587,180 LindstromFeb. 26, 1952 2,595,894 Hammond May 6, 1952 2,635,800 Dickinson Apr. 21,1953

